~ A Chronicle of My Fresh Start

Stuck at a Hotel Bar Amidst Drama

I am sitting at the Driskill, which is one of my favorite spots in town. I have meetings here, meet friends for drinks, have lunch, etc. It’s beautiful — an old Victorian building — and everywhere you look, there is something interesting. It’s a bit of an industry hang-out, I suppose. I come here because it’s a high-end hotel with free wireless in the bar.

I am here with BP and BP Junior. I have been with them for six hours. This meeting has gone completely off the rails. It was bad enough when BP Junior, generally an affable fellow, told BP and me that we had no idea what he needed after we spent hours building a business model for his new venture. Did I mention I spent hours with them working on the model? Hours.

Then, he started getting a bit loud. Then louder. BP announced he was through and started packing his stuff. I begged them to keep their voices down (really, BP Junior). We paid the check and bounced, with them still arguing. When we were a good five minutes from my house, BP, who was driving, stopped the car in the middle of the road and got out. He got his stuff and just walked away. I tried to go after him, but he was too far ahead. I did walk a couple of blocks in very high heels before walking back to BP Junior’s car.

Five minutes later, after I began to understand what his problem was, and acknowledged he was very, very wrong. He claims credit for all of the success of BP’s business over the past 3 years. Since I had to defend BP’s company in legal actions arising from BP Junior’s mistakes, even I know that is absurd.

By the time I got upstairs, BP had called me 4 times. It’s all so crazy, but I can honestly say, I will never be in that situation again.

==> Upon further analysis, the crux of the issue is that BP Junior does not grasp that BP is funding his business so he can be completely independent, without having him involved in BP’s business anymore. We set up a model showing what his business would have to do to support him in the manner to which he’s become accustomed. He kept saying there was more to it because he kept trying to include his income from his work with BP’s company, never understanding that when BP funded this for BP Junior, it was to get him to become independent.